World News
While it’s ‘America First’ for we patriots we still cannot take our eye off world events.
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Israel-Gaza war: Biden to halt some arms supplies if Israel invades Rafah
Mike Wendling & Tom Bateman in Washington – BBC
President Joe Biden has warned Israel that the US will stop supplying some weapons if it launches a major ground operation in the Gaza city of Rafah.
“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah,” he said during an interview with CNN.
He added that he would “continue to make sure Israel is secure”.
Despite firm and vocal US opposition, Israel appears poised to mount a large-scale invasion of Rafah.
The congested part of southern Gaza is Hamas’s last major stronghold in the territory. US officials have warned that an operation in the city – where the population has swelled with refugees from other parts of Gaza – could lead to extensive civilian casualties.
“We’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells,” Mr Biden said in…Read more here.
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US reveals it paused shipment of bombs for Israel over Rafah concerns
By Jaroslav Lukiv & Chris Partridge, weapons analyst – BBC
The US last week paused a bomb shipment for Israel over concerns it was going ahead with a major ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior US administration official said.
The shipment consisted of 1,800 2,000lb (907kg) bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs, the official told the BBC.
Israel has not “fully addressed” US concerns over humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, the official said.
An Israeli military official appeared to play down the US move.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told a news conference that the US had provided “unprecedented” security assistance since the beginning of the war, adding that disputes between the allies were resolved “behind closed doors in a matter-of-fact way”. Read more here.
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Gaza: Israel takes Rafah crossing as truce talks continue
From the BBC
Israel’s army says it has seized Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt, after continuously bombarding eastern Rafah overnight.
Tanks moved in on the area, a vital entry point for aid, a day after Israel ordered civilians to evacuate the area.
Truce talks meanwhile are to resume in Cairo after Israel said terms which Hamas had agreed to were unacceptable.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected it as “far from Israel’s basic requirements”.
The country’s war cabinet voted to continue operations in Rafah, but is however sending a delegation to the talks in Cairo.
Mr Netanyahu’s comments came after Hamas said it had accepted truce terms offered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Read more here.
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Israel orders Gazans to evacuate part of Rafah for ‘limited’ operation
By Yolande Knell and David Gritten – BBC
Israel’s military says it has begun ordering Palestinians to leave parts of eastern Rafah ahead of a “limited” operation in the southern Gaza city.
About 100,000 people are being directed to head to an “expanded humanitarian area” in Khan Younis and al-Mawasi.
After seven months of war, Israel says it must take Rafah to defeat Hamas.
But the UN and US warn that an assault on the city, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, could have catastrophic consequences.
A senior Hamas official called the evacuation order a “dangerous escalation”.
Israeli air strikes in Rafah reportedly killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight, after rockets launched from the area by Hamas fighters killed four Israeli soldiers at the nearby .Kerem Shalom border crossing – the key entry point for humanitarian aid into..Read more here.
